Mentors and Pupils
by Ninja-Consultant
Summary: To foster better relations between the generations and to better understand their capabilities, young heroes are assigned a mentor with which to work. Of course, all sorts of unexpected things can happen while working with the mentors. A five part story
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Also, if you have not read my other stories, it would be helpful to do so before reading this one. The chronology goes: Brothers in Arms, Where Do We Go From Here, Tragedies of the Past, Betrayal From Within, Future Sins, Reestablishing Bonds, Parents and Children, New Allies, Rivals or Friends, Public Enemy Number One, Double Date, Mind Games, and Solar Complications.

Mentors and Pupils, chapter 1

Location: Titan's Tower

"You're going to the JLA Watchtower," Cyborg told the Titans. "Things are going to be a little different this weekend."

"How so?" Robin asked.

"I've been asked not to reveal it, but I think it will be a good experience for all of you."

"I hope there's not going to be mock combat," Match said. "My powers are only at five percent of their regular capacity."

"They're aware of that," Cyborg assured him.

Location: JLA Watchtower

The Titans were surprised to see a number of other younger heroes in the conference room. There were also a number of adult heroes that weren't normally part of the current JLA's roster. Kon gave Match a quizzical look, and he shrugged in response.

Superman stood, and the chatter in the room quieted. Everyone gave him their attention.

"You must be wondering why you're here," he said. "We've discussed it among the JLA and others and have decided that we'd like to take a more active role in your training. All participation is voluntary, so if you don't like what you hear, we'll send you back to where you want."

He continued. "For this weekend, we'd like to assign you all a mentor. Your mentor will be someone you work with, so not only will he or she be teaching you, but you will also be working beside your mentor. We do not want you to simply do whatever your mentor suggests; you may have a better idea than one they have."

"Is there anyone who would rather not participate, or are there any questions?"

Nobody asked any questions. Nobody wanted to opt out.

"Let's begin the assignments then," Superman said. "Each mentor will call out the name of his or her student. Please go to join your mentor after your name is called. Are you ready?"

As expected, Superman was Superboy's mentor, Wonder Woman was Wonder Girl's, and Batman was Robin's. Kid Flash went over to the Flash, Argent was paired with Green Lantern, and Beast Boy got Animal Man as a mentor. Batgirl went with Black Canary.

Match had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He had done a count of mentors and younger heroes, and there was one more younger hero than mentor. It didn't look like there was going to be anyone that mentored two pupils.

As the other remaining young hero went over to his mentor, Match was left alone in the section. He appeared calm and unconcerned, but inside he was feeling humiliated and unwanted. Logically, he knew that it made sense. His powers were at a very low level. He probably shouldn't have appeared.

Aware of the eyes on him, Match stood up and started walking to the door. He wasn't going to reveal how hurt he was. He still had his pride.

"Match, don't go," Superman said. "There's one more assignment."

"Three's a crowd," he said, doing a good job of sounding flippant. "I don't want to impose on anyone."

"There's one of us who hasn't picked yet," Superman said.

Match arched an eyebrow and asked, "Who?"

A green and white image appeared on the main screen in the room.

"That would be me," replied Oracle.

-----

Since my traditional section breaks weren't working, and I didn't like the number system, I'm adding the locations of the scenes to see if that works. Let me know if you like it or not.

Any and all comments welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Mentors and Pupils, chapter 2

Location: Metropolis

"So, what are we going to do?" Kon asked Superman.

Superman gave him a smile. "We'll deal with emergencies as they come up, but, for now, we've got a hurricane evacuation to assist. Follow me."

Location: The Birds of Prey plane

"I can't believe she's going to meet with you face to face," Black Canary said. "Do you know how long it took me to get to that point?"

"We've worked together before," Match said. "She also created my identity, so she already knows who I am."

Batgirl said nothing, as usual.

The two were led onto a plane. A woman in a wheelchair was there.

"Hello, Match," she greeted him. "I'm Oracle."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "This is a little different than I pictured."

"You thought I'd be a little taller?" she asked. "Or perhaps not in a wheelchair?"

Match smiled apologetically. "No, I'm not referring to that. I hadn't pictured a mobile base of operations. I also thought the decor would be a little darker, a touch more severe. This is quite nice."

"You already knew who I was, didn't you?"

Match nodded.

"How?" asked Black Canary. "Oracle's identity is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world! Are you a mind reader or something?"

"I figured out Robin's identity, and the rest came from that."

"I hope he's taking better steps at protecting himself," Barbara said. "That's a little worrying that you figured it out."

Barbara gestured at a briefcase. "There's a computer in there. Get it configured to your liking, and we'll begin. We're going to be monitoring a dozen situations simultaneously. I hope you're up to it."

Max turned on the laptop. "Let's see what we've got."

Location: A short distance from the hurricane

"Everybody hang on!" Superboy called out to those people crammed into the car he was lifting out of the area.

He flew the car to a less crowded area where it could get away from the hurricane. He waved it off and then turned around to find any other people that needed to be evacuated.

Kon sighed. He didn't think this was what he'd be doing with Kal, but it was important work. He remembered the damage that happened in Smallville when the Mississippi River overflowed, and that was after pretty much all of the men had spent the night putting sandbags up to reduce the effect of the flood. He wanted to use his powers for that, but the Kents told him not to.

He spotted a group of people in a boat. The rough waters were threatening to capsize it. He flew over and lifted it into the air.

"What were you thinking, trying to sail at a time like this?" he asked.

He got a response in a language he didn't understand. He realized that these people were most likely trying to enter the country illegally. They looked panicked. Quite possibly, they thought he was going to force them back to wherever they came from.

Kon thought about it. For them to risk their lives, he thought they were likely fleeing an oppressive regime. He flew them to a place outside of the hurricane's projected reach and put them down.

He pointed inland. "You'd better get going. It might still not be safe."

Comprehension dawned in their eyes and their faces lit up. They said their thanks. A little girl held his hand and smiled. They went off, and Kon watched them go.

He turned around and saw Superman standing there.

"You know, they probably aren't here legally," Superman said.

"I know," Kon said defensively. "It just...felt like it was the right thing to do."

"I know. Sometimes you have to listen to your heart. I'd rather err on the side of compassion."

"So, it's okay?"

"It is. I've swept through the area. Everyone is out."

"That's good. Where to now?"

"Back to Metropolis. You need to change into some dry clothes, and we should have something to eat. I think Lois will have ordered something by now."

"I would have expected something homemade rather than delivery. Are you going to wreck my image of you?"

"I'm the cook of the family. Lois is a great believer of takeout and the microwave."

They laughed and headed off to Metropolis.

Location: The Birds of Prey plane

"I've taught teenaged boys," Helena said. "I'm telling you, he's strange."

"I think you're exaggerating," Barbara said. "He's just focused."

"Dinah's running around in a skin-tight outfit, as am I. Batgirl's hardly wearing modest clothing, and Zinda isn't being subtle about hitting on him. You're not bad yourself. Despite all of these beautiful women around him, he hasn't tried to sneak glances or drooled over any of us."

"Match has been busy helping me monitor several situations. I'm not sure he's had enough time to think about ogling any of us."

"Teenage boys make time for that."

"I guess he's an exception," Barbara said, knocking on the bathroom door. "Match, are you okay? Was there any problem getting into the disguise?"

"I just finished," he called out.

He came out, and Barbara caught her breath. She knew that he was a good-looking young man, but when he made an effort, Match could be very attractive.

Match seemed to not notice her reaction. "Did we decide on whether I'm going to be the spoiled playboy or the vapid boy toy?"

"I'd like him to be my boy toy," Zinda muttered.

"Does it matter that much?" Dinah asked. "Your role is supposed to be minimal."

"There's less of a chance that I'll be chosen for abduction if we go with the playboy scenario. There are also a few modifications I'd need to make to my disguise for the other."

"I'd suggest the second one," Helena said. "It's a better chance we'll get someone in, though I think we're pretty sure of getting it as we are."

"That's true," Match said before making a face. "I hope they use chloroform; I don't like pills being put into my drink."

"Chloroform always leaves a bad taste in my mouth though," Dinah said. "What were these modifications you need to make to your outfit?"

Match unbuttoned his shirt halfway and adjusted the collar to hang open.

"All ready?" asked Dinah. "Batgirl's our backup. Let's go."

Location: Lois and Clark's apartment

Conner felt much better after changing clothes and eating.

"I should have bought more food," Lois said. "I had no idea that Conner could eat so much."

"I think he eats less than I did when I was his age," Clark noted.

"I eat more than Max," Conner said.

"I picked at my food when I was a teenager," Lois said. "I guess there's a bit of difference between boys and girls at that age."

"What do you think Max is up to with Oracle?" Clark asked.

"I bet they're doing computer stuff right now," Conner said. "They're probably hacking into some database or doing research. Dry, boring stuff like that."

Location: The kidnapper's van

Max feigned unconsciousness as he was thrown into the back of a van. He was fully aware of what was going on, but he pretended to be the unsuspecting victim of a kidnapping. There were a couple of other victims, and he could tell from the breathing pattern and heartbeat of one that Black Canary was among them.

A quick peek showed that no guard was standing watch over them, and there didn't appear to be any surveillance cameras. Other than Black Canary and himself, there were two other people in the back of the van, one man and one woman who shared several features in common with Dinah and himself.

'Looks like we fit whatever profile they were looking for,' he thought to himself. 'Lucky us.'

"Canary and I have been picked up," he whispered into the communicator that Oracle had given him.

Unfortunately for him, it was a one-way device, so he couldn't hear any response. However, he had helped develop this plan and knew what would happen next. If Batgirl had lost track of them, Oracle would be able to home in on their communicators and give their location to the others. Match was fairly certain that Batgirl was nearby, but he liked to build in contingencies. After being taken to wherever they were going, the rest of the Birds of Prey would swoop in. It was now Canary's job to keep the kidnapped victims safe. His job was to get to their computer system and secure everything before it could be destroyed.

Canary was unconscious now, but she'd wake up soon if they gave her the same drug that they gave him. Match was not impressed with the kidnappers; what they had given him had noticeably altered the taste of his drink. He had enough control of his body's systems without his powers to flush the drug out of his system.

To let Canary know that he was taken with her, he slipped his watch into her pocket. It was a signal that they had set up beforehand.

With everything set, Match went back to feigning unconsciousness.

Location: Lois and Clark's apartment

Even though it was the weekend, Conner wasn't surprised to see Lois working on a story. She was a workaholic and made no apologies about it.

"Anything interesting?" Conner asked her.

"It's a local corruption case," she explained, not taking her eyes off of the screen. "There's a city councilman who's taking bribes to approve a development plan."

"Doesn't that happen all the time?"

Lois flashed a smile. "Not in Metropolis. Not when I'm around."

"Her sense of justice is just one of the reasons why I fell for her," Clark said.

"You say the sweetest things," she told him. "But both of you, hush! I'm almost done and don't want to get distracted just now."

Clark gestured for Conner to join him in the kitchen where they could talk without disturbing Lois.

"I don't think I'd be half the man I am without her," Clark admitted. "She's always held strong opinions that drive here. However, they never get in the way of the truth. While she'd rather walk naked in front of a crowd before admitting she's wrong, she'd do that before passing on wrong information that supported any of her personal beliefs."

"You're very lucky," Conner said. "I knew she was important to you, but I didn't realize how much."

"I think you and Cassie might be onto something similar," Clark said with a grin.

Conner blushed.

Location: The kidnapper's lair

Match led the male kidnap victim to Black Canary and then started crawling though ventilation shafts to find the computer room. His claustrophobia had mostly receded, though he was still nervous and knew he had an elevated heart rate while crawling through the cramped shafts.

He found the room and began copying the data onto a memory stick concealed on his person. After decrypting it, all the details of this operation would be known, and the authorities would be able to rescue the previous victims and deal with the buyers.

He heard a sharp noise and put his hands to his ears. Black Canary had just used her sonic powers, and his enhanced hearing had picked it up.

The data finished copying to the memory stick. He took it and put it in a safe spot.

"This is Match," he said into the communicator. "I have the data. I'm going to rejoin Canary."

With that, he crawled back through the ventilation shafts to where he left Dinah. She and Batgirl had already dispatched all of the guards.

"Are we done?" Dinah asked.

"Yes," he reported. "The data's been retrieved."

"Cool. Let's return these two to their homes and head back."

-----

Any and all comments welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Mentors and Pupils, chapter 3

Location: The Birds of Prey's plane

Barbara woke to the smell of coffee. It was a wonderful smell. She put on a robe and maneuvered herself into her chair. She followed the smell and saw Match at the stove, making breakfast. It smelled good.

"You didn't have to do all of this," she said as she sipped her coffee, sighing in satisfaction. "We could have gone out."

"I was already awake," he said. "It was no bother."

"I figure we'll crack that encryption and see what we have," she said, laying out plans for the day. "We might try to take it easy after that."

"I've already begun work on that," he said. "I estimate it will be done within the next ninety minutes."

"How long have you been awake? It's only 8 AM!"

"I've been awake for roughly three hours. I did some morning exercises before beginning."

"That means you got less than four hours of sleep. That's not enough."

"I don't sleep much," he said.

"Neither do I, but you're still growing. Your system needs more sleep."

"My body runs off of solar energy. I don't need as much as others."

Location: Metropolis

"Is this always how you start your weekend?" Superboy asked as he punched an attempted hostage-taker in powered armor.

"Only on the three-day weekends," Superman quipped as he dealt with another armored foe.

"I really do think they would have learned by now to plan these sorts of things for cities other than Metropolis. I mean, isn't that like they're asking to be caught?"

"While I wish they wouldn't do it, I am glad they make it easy for me to catch them," Superman replied as he fired a blast of heat vision at another one. "How are you holding up?"

Kon sighed as he looked at the crowd in front of him. "There has got to be an easier way to go about this. Cover me; I'm going to try something."

Without waiting for a response, Kon dove into the midst of the would-be hostage-takers. It had been a very long time since he used his powers this way, but he willed the armor that he was touching to disassemble. It worked.

He flashed Superman a grin. "All right! I've still got the touch!"

"Retreat!" one of the few remaining men with armor called out. "We can't take them if we don't have our armor!"

While they had planned out their mission, it appeared that the criminals failed to practice a retreat. They were disorganized and easy for Superman and Superboy to capture.

"Good job!" Superman said. "Now, we can get back to breakfast."

"These guys should have known better than to try to commit a crime so early. Don't they know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"

Location: The Birds of Prey plane

The data was decoded, and it was analyzed and passed on to those who could make the best use of it. It was only 10 AM.

"You threw my schedule off," Oracle admitted. "I figured that I'd have until at least early afternoon before all of this was done. Now, we're roughly five hours ahead of where I thought we'd be."

"I didn't know we were working on a schedule," Match apologized.

"We weren't; it's nothing to be sorry about. I didn't know you'd get such an early start, and I didn't think your computer skills were as good as they are."

"Thank you."

"You're really amazing. You can process information faster than I can, and I'm in the top one percent of the population. I wasn't expecting your implanted knowledge to be so thorough."

"I was trained to be an operative for all purposes. I believe they wanted to test whether it was a viable training method for other operatives."

"Did they implant knowledge in any others?"

"The results were mixed. It destroyed the minds of some while other subjects had varying rates of retention, but never at one hundred percent. I believe that it was the nature of my creation that allowed the process to be successful with me."

"What happened to your skin? Early pictures of you have you with absolutely white skin. You're still fair-skinned, but there's pigment in it now."

"The Groups decided that my original skin was too noticeable, so they decided to alter it. It took some painful genetic modification to do so."

Oracle winced. "I'm sorry to bring up bad memories."

"They're in the past. I don't mind."

"Is there anything you wanted to do?"

"I'm here to learn."

Barbara smiled. "Then we're going to have some fun today."

Location: Metropolis

"There must be a full moon out tonight," Superman said as he hit a giant robot that was rampaging through downtown Metropolis. "It's not normally this crazy."

Superboy swooped in and grabbed two bystanders moments before a chunk of building would have fallen on them. "This is, what, the third emergency we've dealt with today? It's not even noon!"

"I want you to knock it over while I pick it up," Superman said. "Let's see if it's any good in the air."

Superboy dropped off the people he saved. "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"

Kon charged at its upper chest, causing it to teeter over. Superman then swept up behind it and lifted it up off the ground. As he gained altitude, the robot flailed around helplessly.

"Finish it!" Superman called out.

Superboy smashed into the robot, causing it to fall apart. The two then vaporized the pieces with their heat vision before they could fall to the ground.

"That was easy," Kon said. "What's next?"

Superman cocked his head. "I hear another alarm. Let's go!"

"Never a dull moment, huh?"

Location: The Galleria

Barbara realized too late that her definition of 'fun' may have qualified as 'torture' for Max. Still, he was being a very good sport and not complaining about going shopping with Dinah, Helena, Cassandra, and Zinda. Of course, that mostly translated into 'hold the bags' and 'compliment the women trying things on.'

"You should try on something too," she urged him. "This shouldn't just be about us."

"If you insist," he said as he picked out some clothes.

Zinda gave an appreciative whistle as Max came out of the dressing room. While his choices were more modest than the outfit he wore for the previous night's mission, they highlighted his attractiveness. Barbara harbored the suspicion that there was a ten year span of GQ in his implanted knowledge.

"How does this look?" he asked.

"Good," said Cassandra.

"It's missing something," Dinah said as she went over to the accessories counter, picked out a pair of stylish sunglasses, and put them on his face. "There, I think that does it."

"We're getting you that," Barbara said.

Max changed back to his other clothes.

"Tell me, are you always so well-behaved?" Helena asked.

"Normally, I'm asked if I'm always terse and formal," Max answered with a slight smile.

"I teach teenagers," she continued. "I don't know of another teenaged boy who would be able to go through this morning without going crazy or making some sort of comment."

"Etiquette is part of my implanted knowledge," he noted. "I know what's appropriate and what isn't."

"Knowing and being able to actually do something are different animals," Barbara said. "You don't seem to have ever held back anything today. That's very unusual."

"Proper behavior was...required," Max said. "That's most likely something that other teenagers did not have enforced."

"I'm sorry to bring up any painful memories," Helena apologized. "It's just that you seem so different. You're kind of like Cassandra that way. She's got a lot of stranger mannerisms, but they're being smoothed out."

"When did kids get so complicated?" Zinda asked. "In my day, there wasn't this angst stuff or these issues you guys have."

"I believe our cases are rather unique," Max said. "Cassandra was trained to kill people, and I was made to be a servant and warrior. There wasn't exactly any love and understanding involved in my creation, just science."

Location: Metropolis

"Sometimes, technology really sucks," Superboy said as he guided an airplane to the Metropolis airport's runway.

A localized EMP blast had gone off, and Kon and Kal were rescuing the planes that were affected. Because of his telekinetic powers, Kon was actually able to handle them more gently than Superman. Still, Superman was able to deal with the larger planes better than he was.

"It's not normally this bad in Metropolis," Superman said. "I don't know what's gotten into everybody."

"Powered armor, giant robots, and now this," Kon listed them off. "You think it's all connected?"

"It's possible. I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions."

After landing the last plane, Kon sat on the runway to catch his breath. He was used to dealing with crises, but these were a lot strung together. It was becoming ridiculous.

"Kon-El," Superman said to get his attention.

"Let me guess, another problem?"

"Yes."

Conner stood up. "Let's do it."

Location: The Birds of Prey plane

"I'm getting reports of multiple incidents in Metropolis," Barbara said.

"You only tell us things if we're going to mobilize," Dinah said. "Superman and Superboy need our help?"

"I don't think they'll turn us away if we show up. Zinda, get the jet ready."

"I'm on it, boss," Lady Blackhawk said, as she went to the cockpit.

"What's our role?" Max asked, sounding calm.

"We'll analyze the incidents while in transit," Barbara replied. "I think those two have their hands full with what's going on. We'll see if we can find the source of the incidents and deal with it."

-----

Last chapter, Superboy had it relatively calm while Match had a lot of action. This chapter, it's the other way around.

Any and all comments welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Mentors and Pupils, chapter 4

Location: The Birds of Prey plane, en route to Metropolis

Huntress was impressed. Match was able to keep up with Oracle despite how worried he was for Superboy and Superman.

"From what we've studied, it's likely these incidents are guided by a single person or organization," Oracle said. "Our goal will be to track down the mastermind and stop him."

"Do we know anything about the guy?" Black Canary asked. "Any information can help."

"We don't have any solid information, but it's likely a man with military experience," Match said. "The operations are planned in such a way that there's a seventy-five percent chance of this."

"You've ruled out Intergang?" Huntress asked.

"These incidents are too destructive in nature," Oracle said, refraining from commenting on Helena's jump to blame organized crime. "Intergang wants money and power, not smoking rubble."

"Any idea about the purpose of these incidents?" Black Canary asked.

"Oracle and I disagree on this," Match said. "She thinks it's terrorism. I think they're serving as a distraction."

"A distraction for what?"

"I don't know yet. The random pattern makes it difficult to determine. Where she sees disaffected ex-military personnel, I see these set as a goal for the mastermind. That no one has claimed responsibility or issued demands makes me think that it isn't terrorists."

"Do we know anything about the technology used in these attacks?"

"It's advanced technology," Oracle said. "Nobody's had a chance to analyze it yet. Part of our job will be to get a hold of it."

Location: Metropolis

Kon was tiring. He and Superman had been dealing with incidents since the previous day. He wasn't as sharp as he was when these situations began. He could tell than even Superman was feeling the effects of having constantly been active for more than twenty-four hours.

"Don't worry," Superman told him. "We're getting backup. I'm sure that these incidents will stop soon."

"I hope so. I'm just about ready to drop."

Location: The Birds of Prey plane, in Metropolis

"Oracle, you and Match coordinate all the teams," Batman ordered via radio. "We're at your disposal."

"I got it," she said, both she and Match already monitoring several different heroes. "Match, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," he said. "The number of incidents seems to be increasing with the number of heroes. It's unlikely they're going to be able to gather together."

Oracle frowned. "We'll have to keep up as best we can."

Location: Metropolis

"Take that!" Kon said as he barreled through a group of robots.

Knowing that others were there reinvigorated him a bit. Still, it seemed as if a hostile army had descended upon Metropolis.

With the robots dealt with, Oracle's voice came over his communicator and said, "Deploy to Twenty-Sixth Street and Jefferson. A group of cyborg crocodiles just appeared there."

"This is like a bad B-movie," Kon muttered.

Location: The Birds of Prey plane, in Metropolis

Match frowned. The number of incidents was finally decreasing, but heroes from all over had clustered together. It felt like a trap to him.

He overlaid the locations of the attacks on a map of Metropolis. He compared it to where the current attacks were.

"It's a trap," he said. "They were led to cluster together. Do we have anyone to dispatch to the Opera House?"

"Everyone's busy," Oracle said. "What have you found?"

"There's no time to explain!" Match shouted, as he ran out of the plane and used his powers to take to the air.

"What's going on?" Oracle demanded of him over the communications device.

Location: Metropolis

"It's finally slowing down," Kon said, still dealing with a few more robots.

"Match, what are you doing?" he heard Oracle broadcast.

"What's going on?" Kon asked over the comm channel.

Location: The Metropolis Opera House

Match silently berated himself for not realizing it earlier. It was now clear to him that the heroes were lured in with distractions and whoever was behind this meant to wipe them all out.

"Evacuate the city," he ordered. "If I'm not in time, get as far away as you can."

"What are you doing?" Oracle repeated.

"I need to concentrate. We'll talk later."

He knew where the nuclear bomb was hidden. It was the one place that maximized the damage from both the blast and the aftermath.

Sure enough, it was exactly where he thought it was. The timer display on it was under ten seconds. Match grimaced. He didn't have enough time to defuse it the regular way; he was going to have to try something he'd never done before.

He put his hands on it and forced his power into it. He had seen Conner do this. He knew he should be able to duplicate the feat, even at his current lower power level.

The bomb disassembled itself. It wouldn't explode now. Match breathed a sigh of relief. This had been too close.

"You can stop the evacuation," he reported. "The bomb has been disabled. Please dispatch a team to decontaminate my location of radiation. There's weapons grade plutonium that needs to be dealt with. I'll need to undergo decontamination treatments as well."

"What happened?" Oracle demanded.

"We were both right. It was a distraction, and it was designed for destruction."

-----

Any and all comments welcome!


	5. Epilogue

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Mentors and Pupils, epilogue

Location: The JLA Watchtower, medical bay

Conner visited Max. He had been confined pending the results of the radiation tests.

"I hope they're giving you a frequent visitor rate," he joked.

Max smiled. "I'm fine, but they just want to get the results of the tests. Radiation isn't quite as deadly to us as it is to others."

"So, exactly how was it being Oracle's pupil? Did you get to hang out with Black Canary?"

"I did. She's quite a capable combatant. How was it to work with Kal-El in the field for so long?"

"He's great, but getting back to Black Canary..."

Location: The JLA Watchtower, conference room

"He's convinced he's always right, overly reserved with others, and only listens to others when he feels like it," Oracle reported.

Superman frowned. He didn't realize that Match was so hard to work with.

Batman, however, was smiling. "How good was he? How would you rate his abilities?"

"He's good, very good," Oracle admitted. "He handled everything well. He may not be as good as I am now, but he'll probably be better than me in the future. He was better than I thought he'd be, and I thought he'd be good."

"Thank you, Barbara," Superman said.

After turning off the channel, he looked at Bruce. "That's the last report. Are you going to tell me why you set this up? I'm happy to spend more time with Conner, but you already spend time with Tim. We were fortunate that everyone worked so well together; those attacks on Metropolis would have been better defended against if we were in our regular groups."

"I didn't foresee the attacks on Metropolis," Batman admitted. "I thought that bonds between everyone should be established, but I did have an ulterior motive for asking for this."

"Spill it."

"I'm aware of my mortality. I'm not going to be able to do this forever. I've given thought to designating a successor and training him or her."

"You have several people you've trained: Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl-"

"They are all excellent in their own way, but none of them have been excellent across the board in physical talent, deductive ability, or the drive to do the job. I wanted to see if there was anyone else that met my standards."

"You've found someone from the reports?"

"One of the reports leads me to believe that I have an excellent candidate."

"Who?"

"I thought I'd give the hotshot investigative reporter a chance to deduce who I'm looking at. It's only fair."

Clark thought about it. Most of the teen heroes had received glowing reports. He took into consideration Bruce's distrust of metahumans. He came up with a candidate.

"It's Speedy, isn't it?"

Bruce smiled. "Wrong."

"Who, then?"

"I think Match might have what it takes."

Clark stared in shock for a moment. "But, he's a metahuman! And he received the most negative report out of everyone! I thought you didn't trust him!"

"In the past, I didn't trust him, but he's proven himself. The reason I dislike most metas is that without their powers, they usually fall apart. You don't, and neither did Match. I respect that. Finally, we must have heard different reports, because Barbara indicated that he was highly intelligent, skilled, and an independent thinker."

Clark frowned. "I'm not sure I like the idea of him taking your place. I don't think Gotham would have a good effect on him."

"You're just worried that I'm going to steal a member of your family," Bruce challenged.

"That's not it. Match has an inner darkness from what's happened to him. Your city is hardly kind to those with that darkness. I want him to be happy."

"It's hardly as if I'm not going to give him a choice. I'm not going to force my mantle on him. It's merely that if I offer to train him as my eventual replacement, I would like him to say yes. That's in the future; I don't plan on retiring anytime soon."

Location: Apokalyps

Vermin Vundabar groveled before Darkseid. "It was a perfect plan! I do not know how they avoided it!"

"It was one of the Kryptonian's spawn that did it," Desaad said. "That's who undid your so-called 'perfect plan.'"

Vermin glared at Desaad. He wished to choke the life out of the man, but he was Darkside's most favored lieutenant.

"I will have my revenge on him," Darkseid growled. "I have just the plan for it."

-----

Any and all comments welcome!


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